Wide Awake
by To Be A Necessity
Summary: Katniss wakes up one morning, ready to tell Peeta that she wants children. Not only does she wake up, but she also wakes up from a two-year a coma. The Hunger Games wasn't real. Now, while she must play the 'real or not real' game with her family, she also has to find out how to get Peeta to fall for her like he did in her mind. FUTURE LEMONS. Rated M for later on.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm wide awake._

_Yeah, I was in the dark_

_I was falling hard_

_With an open heart_

_I'm wide awake_

_How did I read the stars so wrong?_

My eyes slowly open and a smile ghosts my lips as I awake from a great night sleep. It's been exactly a year since Peeta and I have gotten married, and everything's been going right. Today, I've willed myself to tell him something that I would've never thought of saying—that I want children. That I'm ready to live on with my life—with him.

I've finally let myself fall for him, like he did for me so long ago. I can't see it any other way.

I rub my eyes before turning in our bed, and see a white railing. In confusion, I touch it.

"Wha—" I start to ask myself, but don't know what to say. What's going on? Where am I?

Where's Peeta?

The room is completely silent except for a soft humming noise. I hear a small gasp from someone behind me and I jump. My hand recoils from the pain that shoots into it as I yelp. A small tube connects to my hand, but why? I saw this… tube… thing in patient's arms at 13. But, I'm not a patient…

I jump up in bed as I turn to look beside me, my eyes wide.

"Prim?" I exclaim, grabbing a handful of hair in my other hand. What is going on? Am I going crazy? After all these years, _this_ happens to me when my life is right? "What's going on?" I desperately ask her, and her eyes seem to bug out of her head.

"Katniss!" She yells, jumping from her seat to hug me. I'm too confused to hug her back. Isn't she dead?

"You can't be Prim." I say, pulling back from her. The pained look she gives me is the same look she would give to mom when she was yelled at. The look hurts me to no limit. I don't want to cause her any more pain.

"But, Katniss—" she murmurs. She seems speechless, too.

The door to the room opens and there stands my mom, freezing when she sees that I'm awake. Her dark eyes suddenly brighten up to the extreme as she runs over and tries hugging me as well.

"Get off of me!" I exclaim, pushing her off as well. "Where am I?"

My mom tries explaining to me something about me falling, but it doesn't add up. "Then why's Prim here?" I ask her, looking at my sister. "She died in the Capitol, remember?"

"Katniss," My mom whispers after a moment. "What are you saying? Prim never died, honey. I can assure you of that."

"What?" I yell, louder than before. "But, but—" I stutter, and tears come to my eyes. "Can someone _please_ explain to me what the hell is going on?"

"Language!" My mother growls. I roll my eyes.

"Since when do you care what I do? I mean, you left me in Twelve all by myself! You moved to another district and just… left me there! How can you deal with yourself?"

Mom's eyebrow rises as she starts to look scared. She clicks a button at the bottom of my bed before I can assault her anymore.

A man in a white, long coat walks in, and once he sees me awake, he smiles. "Katniss!" He exclaims, but doesn't try to hug me. "I'm glad to see you awake."  
"What is going on?" I scream, pulling at my hair with more force. The doctor offers soothing words as I try to compose myself.

"Let me explain. You've been in a coma for quite a while, Katniss. About two years. You were hunting and something got you. We could never find out what, though. Do you remember anything from before?"

My head throbs as I try to think harder. "I—I don't understand," I weakly respond, tears falling down my cheeks. "Where's Peeta?"

Mom and Prim exchange looks. Prim answers, "The baker's son? Why would he be here?"

I look at her in awe. "Because we're married! It's our one year anniversary! I really need to see him and if you don't mind—"

"Katniss!" My mom cuts me off, looking more concerned than before. "Katniss, you aren't married. You never hung out with Peeta before—well, before_ this_. Do you remember Gale? Madge?"

I nod quickly. "Gale left to another district for a job when twelve was destroyed."

"What are you talking about? We're in twelve." Prim explains. "It was never destroyed."

"But you're dead!" I say, and then the doctor tries to calm me down again.

"Tell me everything you know." The doctor says, and I tell him about the Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell. But as I keep going, from the day Prim was chosen for the Hunger Games to the rebellion, the doctor looks more and more concerned.

"Why—what's wrong?" I ask. I'm starting to feel crazy. This all happened—why don't they remember it?

"None of that happened, Katniss. You're brain must've created that story while you were in a coma. What we can—"

"No!" I whisper to myself, looking down at my arms. I don't have the scar from Joanna taking the tracker out of me, and I don't have any scars that didn't heal from the rebellion. "How is that possible?"

"Many things can happen while someone is in a coma," the doctor gently reassures me, but I can't focus. "You seemed to have created this… this 'game' in your head, using the people you knew beforehand. What we'll need to do are some tests, but they won't take long. You'll be able to go home soon."

"So, I'm not married?" I murmur, my heart breaking in my chest. I feel like someone's just brainwashed me of everything that I had known. Is this some kind of sick joke that Snow is doing to me because I'm the Mockingjay?

Mom gives me a sympathetic expression as she tries to comfort me. I jerk away from the contact before I understand that she never left me. She was always there, and so was Prim.

The doctor turns to mom with a sad smile. "She'll definitely take some time readjusting to everything, but it'll get better. Just try doing 'real or not real'; it's where she says something she remembers, and you say whether or not it actually happened. It's worked wonders for our patients."

The testing is a very painful process, but I eventually start to understand that they aren't going to hurt me. But every time Prim tries to come near me, I can't help myself. I flinch. She's supposed to be dead…

They take me out of the hospital and it's all so… different. District twelve doesn't look anything like a town in poverty. The newly painted buildings give it a more modern feel and remind me of District Two. Something big rolls toward us, and I run for cover in an alleyway. It takes twenty minutes for Mom and Prim to help me stand up and reassure me that it's not going to hurt me. "It's called a 'car'." Prim explains, allowing me to grip onto her arm as we walk closer to it. "We use it for transportation; it's a lot easier than walking."

I don't trust these 'car' things at all; I survive on my instincts, not these… 'things'.

"So… Gale—he still lives here?" I ask, grabbing onto the fabric that we sit on in the car. Mom nods urgently.

"Yes. He would come in regularly to check on you. He said that he would try talking to you at times, just in case you could hear him. He really missed you."

I flinch. If he missed me so much, he wouldn't have left me. But wait, that was my 'mind' playing games on me. "Gale and I go hunting together—real or not real?"

"Real." She assures, hovering her hand over mine. I don't flinch this time; I've learned that it really hurts them when I do. Instead, I act as though I can't feel it. "You guys have hunted in the past, but to stop overpopulation. There are too many animals in the forest, so you two would help regulate the population with other kids. Anything you would bring back would be eaten by somebody in the district."

"Greasy Sae isn't poor, then?"

Mom looks at me with a wild expression. "She's the book keeper here, so no. She lives in one of the bigger houses here with her granddaughter."

"Is anyone poor here?" I ask hesitantly. Mom shakes her head. We reach a STOP sign, which I don't understand at all. The car halts as the driver coughs into his shoulder.

I swear our home is something I've never seen before. It reminds me of my house in the Victor's Village, except slightly bigger. In fact, every house that we passed was the same size. When the car door opens I jump out, trying to take everything in. This must be some kind of hell. This can't be where I had grown up, and even if they were telling the truth, how could I make up seventeen years of my life in only two?

"Katniss?" A hearty murmur comes from the front door. No. Oh no. This can't be possible.

A small cry comes from the back of my throat. "Dad?" I barely whisper, and he barrels towards me to hug me. I grab his back and tighten my hold on him as I sob frantically in his chest. "Dad, dad…" is all I can spit out. He smells the same way he did so long ago.

Dad doesn't let go of me for a while, but I hold on longer than he does. "You're supposed to be dead…" I sob. "You're supposed to be dead…"

"What?" He asks, and I can feel his body freeze around my arms. He gives a concerning look to mom.

"She can't remember anything from before," She says to him. "The doctor says she created this whole different life in her head and… she thinks that we all left her." She sounds so pained to say this aloud, and it hurts me to hear it, too.

A low "Hum" comes from my Dad as I let go of him, wiping my eyes. We're quiet for a while before my dad says, "Well then, we'll have to show you around the house."

Our house is far homier than the one I lived in by myself. Every room has a different feel to it. My room is a light purple and Prim's is a baby pink. We live right next to the woods, and my bow and arrow are placed at the front door.

"It's a lot to take in for you, I would guess." Dad says, giving me a one-armed hug. "Do you want to go downtown? Maybe something will look familiar to you."

My heart aches a little more. "What am I supposed to believe?" I whisper. "It couldn't have been all unreal. I was raised in District twelve; a poor, coal mining district."

He lets out a long sigh as he thinks of what to say. "Day by day it'll get better, hun. You _were_ raised in twelve, but we were never poor. No one was."

"You sang to me the Hanging Tree when I was little—real or not real?"

Dad looks at me in surprise before giving me a small smile. "Real," he murmurs. "See? You remember some things. You won't be alone for this, Katniss. You're not alone anymore. We're all going to help you readjust."

I go downtown by myself—on foot, of course. I assure my family that I'll be better by myself so that I can soak everything in without explanations. More likely, I just don't want to believe that they're still _here_. I'm still going through the shock of everything, but I might as well look around…

_Mellark's Bakery_ flashes before my eyes as I stop in my tracks. The last name makes my heart flutter, my knees weak. How could that all have been my mind? It couldn't have. Maybe if I talk to Peeta everything will go back to the way it was.

I open the door, and a bell on the top of the door jingles. Mr. Mellark, one whom I remember, looks at me with a confused look. "Hello, Katniss." He friendly welcomes, but is still surprised by my appearance. I guess I never came into the bakery. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to see Peeta." I announce. I don't know how to feel; excited or scared. Maybe when Peeta sees me, we'll embrace like we've been doing for so long. But what if he runs away? My heart won't be able to take it. That's when I'll know that in _this _life, we never fell in love.

Mr. Mellark's eyebrows scrunch together as he calls towards the back of the bakery. "Peeta!" He yells before giving me a small smile and returns to his work.

Peeta walks into the room, dusting off the flour on his hands. He's wearing an apron that I remember from before, and I can't help but run over to him and hug him.

"Peeta!" I murmur, taking in his musky scent. But he doesn't embrace me back. Oh. I pull away from him, looking down at the ground. "S—sorry," I stutter, embarrassed. "I just—I… I—"

"Yes?" He asks me cautiously. His eyes are wide and he doesn't look like he even remembers me. I've scared him already—not the way I expected it to go down.

"Can we talk somewhere… private?" I ask, looking into his blue eyes. My heart shatters a little; they aren't the ones that I've longed to see since I've woken up in this hell. He doesn't look at me in that loving way that he's done for so long. He swallows deeply before answering me.

"S—sure," he says, and leads me to the back door of the bakery. My hands suddenly feel clammy as I feel like a vulnerable teenage girl. What am I doing?

We both stand there for a while before I can muster up what I'm trying to say. _I've been in a coma apparently for the last two years. During that time, we fell in love and got married. I was hoping it was the same way here._

"I—" I start out, but nothing seems to happen. My esteem deflates a little more. "I don't know how to say this."

"Say what?" He asks, but he looks scared. "Hey, weren't you in the hospital before?"

I gulp. "Yes," I choke out, and shut my eyes tightly. "Apparently I was in _a coma_."

"Ouch," he replies, his throat bobbing up and down. "I hope you've been doing okay."

"That's the problem," I say, and I can't stop myself. I have to tell him. This is too much for me to be going through alone. "I don't remember anything from before."

Peeta is about to say something but stops himself. No one knows how to respond to this kind of stuff. This just doesn't happen to people. But for me, anything happens. I already know _that_.

"But you remember _me_?" He asks, pointing a finger to himself. I nod hesitantly.

"I created this _world_ where District Twelve was poor, and how the Capitol would make two people from each district go into this thing called the 'Hunger Games'. Only one person would survive. But you and me, we both went in, and we both survived." He looks at me like I'm crazy, but I keep going. I _want_ him to understand, to remember everything that had happened before. I don't want to feel crazy. I tell him everything about the Quarter Quell and then the rebellion. "And then afterwards, we returned to twelve, and well, we—we got—" the word sticks in my throat. "_Married_." I quietly murmur, and Peeta's eyes go wide. I quickly try to explain to him about it, but I can see him looking for a way to leave where we are. "No, no, no! I just—it—I just _know_ it happened! Please, just—Peeta, please hear me out, I—"

"I really have to go," he quickly says before disappearing. Another sob leaves my chest as I break down again. This is all so _wrong_. He's supposed to be in love with me like I am with him! Why am I going through this? I don't want to be crazy!

I slowly walk myself back home, where I retreat to my room and curl into a ball. The last thing I wanted to _ever_ lose was Peeta, and now I'd lost him.

"Tomorrow," I assure myself. "Tomorrow, it'll be all back to normal."


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm wide awake_

_And now it's clear to me_

_That everything you see_

_Ain't always what it seems_

_I'm wide awake_

_Yeah, I was dreaming for so long_

"_Katniss," Peeta whispers against my neck, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. I smile as I begin to wake up._

"_Hey." I say, dazed slightly. Peeta always has this effect on me. But do I mind? Of course not. I love that he does it to me._

_His hand travels down the side of my stomach, resting on my hip. I smirk as I lean back into his chest, turning my head to see him better. His lips touch mine softly as I bring myself to say it to him._

"_Peeta?" I ask, suddenly hesitant. He smiles at my nervousness._

"_What?" He asks, brushing a piece of hair from my face._

"_I know it's been a while, but I'm finally ready." I take a deep breath in. "I'm ready for children." I bite my lip as I try to contain my smile, as he understands what I just said._

_His eyes widen for a moment before a blinding smile outstretches across his face, an excited laugh coming out of his mouth. He begins to say something, but it sounds like a cry._

"_Katniss! Katniss!"_

I sit up so quickly that I can't even see. I raise a hand to my forehead as I see Prim along my bed.

"Morning, Katniss!" She squeals, giving me a big smile. She's wearing a sundress that I never thought we'd be able to afford, with gemstones sparkling at the trim every time she moves. I feel sick. I still haven't gotten used to the fact that my sister, Prim, is still alive. I don't feel like I'll _ever_ get used to it.

Days go by and well… it's still wrong. All so wrong. The 'real or not real' game still remains to be played frequently in our household, and my parents never get tired of it. It makes me want to cry; how could I think so hatefully about my mother before? How could I have turned her into this vulnerable, helpless mother who left the world when Dad died?

I snap out of my thoughts as Prim talks again. "Dad says to get ready for school! It'll be your first day back—aren't you excited?"

Shit—I forgot. I try to smile to Prim as I thank her for waking me, and once she leaves the room, my body hits the mattress again. I groan as I think about how school will be so different than before; at least I'll get to see Gale and Madge, and _Peeta…_

I haven't seen Peeta since, well, my major outbreak. Quite frankly, I'm scared of what he'll say to me when we see each other again, _if _he says anything. I'm mad at myself for the most part. If I hadn't fallen into a coma, I would've never felt this way about him—or would I? Maybe fate would've put us together in this life, anyways.

But there's only one thing that's on my mind—I have to win Peeta's heart this time. I'll finally get to understand how Peeta felt, trying to win me over.

"I don't think I can do this," I murmur, grabbing the fabric of the car's seat again. Dad looks over at me with a sympathetic smile.

"It'll all go well, Katniss; you've just had too much time to think about today. I promise you, you'll do fine. I've talked to Gale's father over the phone and he says that Gale is more than happy to help you out. And I'm sure Madge will be by your side, too." He pats my knee before urging me to get out of the car.

The high school is different from what we had in my mind. In my mind, well, we didn't really have a school. Work was far more important for the young citizens of District Twelve. But I guess since we all have money, we have time for education here.

I remind myself to keep breathing as I see hundreds of kids inside the school. My eyes nearly bug out as I don't remember one face; student or teacher. Girls are wearing brand new dresses and seem to have all this makeup on their faces—like the Capitol women. Boys are wearing khakis and sandals, talking about things like 'golf' and 'football'. What the hell is that?

Am I enrolled in a preppy school? I look down at my plain, navy blue dress. Dad must've dropped me off at the wrong school…

A bell rings, and I jump. I grab onto the counter at the welcome desk, startled by the noise. It sounds just like District Thirteen's alarm system when we were under attack. No one looks afraid, though. Some groan towards their friends and the crowd slowly dissipates. Suddenly I'm alone in the middle of the hallway.

Someone finds me wandering the halls and before I know it, I'm in an office, waiting for a man to appear. The room is silent, but I actually enjoy it. I haven't had much silence since I've woken up.

"Morning, Miss Everdeen," a voice says from the doorway, but I don't turn to look at him. I freeze in the seat I'm in, and whisper the name under my breath.

"Haymitch," I barely say.

"Principal Abernathy, that is." He corrects me, and my eyes are still wide. He takes his seat at the table.

"You're alive?" I ask him, and his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "And you don't have any alcohol with you?"

"Enough!" He strictly commands, and I shut up. I feel shameful as I remember that he's not my mentor. He's not the drunkard that I remember so well, the one that I actually admired in a way. He's just a principal; that's it.

Once he calms down from my rude questions, he clears his throat. "Now, Katniss, I acknowledge that this is your first day back here. I've gotten some letters from your doctor, as well as guardians saying that you had been in a coma." He leans towards me, and I don't smell any alcohol. It's weird to see him looking… _smart_ for once. "A teacher brought you here because you were wandering the halls. I know, this must be confusing for you, but we are going to do our best to try and help you here."

"It's going to take a lot more than help, Hay—" I look at his blue eyes before correcting myself. "Principal _Abernathy_."

He smiles at me and I fight the urge to scrunch my nose. "A student has volunteered, actually, to help you. Gale Hawthorne, that is. He's a senior this year, so he has several free classes where he can help you around. He'll be helping you find your classes as well as familiarize you with the school grounds."

I want to say more to him, since I haven't seen him in what feels like so long, but I can't get myself to find the courage. He wouldn't understand anything that I'd be saying to him anyway, since all I've thought about for the past two years is the Hunger Games.

Haymitch, as I'd rather call him, tells me that Gale will be waiting for me in the cafeteria during lunch time. He says it's where students each their lunch, but I don't really understand any purpose for it. The cafeteria is noisy like this morning, but there are tables, as well as chairs, spread around the big room. Many kids are sitting down, chirping about their wonderful days. I want to roll my eyes at how unimportant education is here, but that isn't how this District Twelve is maintained. People here get an education.

I hear murmurs from around the cafeteria as I walk deeper into the room. "Katniss made up this life…" "I hear that she's a psycho now…" "The Hunger Games…" "Was in a coma for God knows how long…" Since when did people start finding out about my problems? I fight the urge to close my ears, close my eyes and just forget that I'm here. It hurts more to remember that all that I used to know isn't real. I'm about to walk out of the cafeteria when I see a blonde head not too far from where I'm standing.

_Peeta_. My heart beats so fast that I think I'll pass out from seeing him here. He goes to this school, too? Hell, there's only one school here—he _has _to go here! He's sitting at a table with a bunch of other boys who seem to have the same muscle build that he does; they must all be part of a group. Do they lift weights?

He seems to notice me staring as his blue eyes meet mine. I swear that the world stops and the only thing that matters are him and me. I smile slightly, without knowing it, and his eyes seem to widen. Peeta doesn't return the smile back to me, but instead avoids looking back up at me. I'm about to yell out his name but someone beats me to speaking.

"Katniss!" Gale yells from behind me, and as I turn I can see him standing from a table filled with obnoxious looking boys. Then again, everyone here looks obnoxious to me. When I see him, I put on my best smile.

"Gale!" I say, trying to match his mood. He pulls me into a hug, and I remind myself to breathe again.

"It's so great to see you!" He exclaims, looking me over. It feels awkward to be here, in front of him again. Gale was supposed to have killed my sister as well as thousands with his bomb. He isn't supposed to be here; and I know he _wouldn't_ go to a preppy school, either. Gale's wearing black pants and a nicely ironed shirt. He doesn't match the status quo here, but neither do I.

Maybe that's why we were friends in the first place. We're the outsiders of school.

"Can we go somewhere else?" I ask him as the crowd's volume increases. The sound hurts my head.

Gale notices my discomfort and quickly obliges, leading me outside. We walk towards the forest, but stop about twenty feet before it. Once we sit down, he turns to me, smiling widely.

"So, your dad says that you guys play a game to help you, right?" I nod quickly, avoiding his eyes. He must think it's a stupid idea; that I should believe what I want to. But instead, he takes my hands in his and asks gently, "Do you want to try it with me?"

"You're not usually this nice; real or not real?"

He forces out a laugh but I can see that I've hurt him in a way. I open my mouth to take it back, but he already knows that I'm sorry. "Its fine, Katniss." He reassures. "Well, I like to think I'm usually this nice. I don't like hurting other peoples' feelings, you know? I feel bad when I do."

I nod, staring at something in the distance. This feels too awkward. "Tell me," he quietly says, to the point where I think I don't hear him right.

"What?"

"Tell me," he states, looking into my eyes. His eyes are so… _clear_. They don't look like the foggy, gray eyes he had before. There's something about them that I have never seen before; maybe that's the reason all the girls liked him in my… mind. I blink twice as he continues. "What was I like when you were in a coma?"

I swallow loudly. "Are you _sure_ you want to know?" I ask, and he looks confusedly at me.

"It can't be that bad," Gale murmurs, running a hand through his hair. I smile slightly as I see that I'm making him nervous with the question, but then I remind myself about what he _was_ like in my mind.

"Well," I begin, and the words kind of choke up in my throat. "You were… very devoted. You were devoted to keeping your siblings alive, as well as Prim when I wasn't there for her. When you had something in mind, you stuck with it—no exceptions. You hated having people control District Twelve, and you hated the Capitol. You, um…"

"I what?" He asks me cautiously, like one part of him wants to hear it and another doesn't. I try looking at something else, while trying to gain the courage I need, but it doesn't help me.

"You created this… bomb, which, um… which k—killed P…Prim." I hang my head low as I look at my lap. How could I make people act so cruelly in my mind? Am I a monster for thinking this way about people? For making them do such inhumane things?

"Oh," is all that Gale says, and I look up to see that he is looking out at the forest. "Were we friends?" he asks, and I'm guessing that he wants to stop thinking about such horrible things. I nod automatically.

"Yeah; before Peeta and I were—"

"Peeta?" He asks suddenly, and my heart starts to pound. The name slipped out of my mouth. I _really_ don't want someone to remind me of my apparently-not lover. I still can't get the fact out of my mind that he isn't mine—but he will be. I'm gonna make sure of that. "Peeta was there?"

"Uh, yeah." I reply, sniffling. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to show how weak I am to someone who'll just make fun of me—but he won't. He's not like that. "You defy the Capitol." I blurt out, taking my hands from his and holding my face in my hands.

"What? No, Katniss—I don't defy the Capitol. Katniss," I can feel his hands lightly wrap around my wrists as he tries to reassure me. I flinch slightly as I try to lean back, further away from him. "Katniss," he says to me, sounding more pained than before. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's what they all say," I spit out, suddenly angry. "One minute I'm in love with someone and the next minute they don't know who I am! And it's going to be _okay_ anyways? They're not gonna hurt me? I'm already hurt—I'm in hell right now!" I throw the tantrum right at Gale, who still doesn't understand more than half of what I've been through these past two years.

I can tell that he's frightened, but it looks like he's more worried than anything else. He keeps the space between us and once I calm down he says, "Tell me everything."

I'm getting tired of telling everyone this story. I mean, this isn't just a story—this is my _life_. I'd rather be back in a coma, imagining all that stuff rather than being here, where nobody understands what I'm talking about. It's so frustrating, trying to make people remember something that they've never heard of.

"So, basically, you're supposed to be married to Peeta, your dad _and_ sister are supposed to be dead, your mom and I are supposed to be in another district, and Principal Abernathy is your mentor?"

I grimace as I say, "Yep. And _now_, everything's different."

"That sucks," he replies, picking at the grass. "Why did I leave? Was it because my job called for it?"

"Partly," I honestly reply. "But, you also _did_ have feelings for me. You just kind of left, though, when you saw Peeta and me…"

Gale lets the information sink in, his eyes widening for a second. "Hmm," he replies, running a hand through his hair again.

We stay quiet for a while before we hear the bell ring again. "Does that bell _always_ go off so much?" I groan, picking up my bag.

Gale chuckles as he gives me a hand. "Yeah; you kind of get used to it, though. It's not as bad as you think it is."

As we get closer to the school, I notice that we're still holding hands. Maybe my confession about us being… 'almost-lovers' got to him in a way. I mean, I knew that he saw me in that way, in my mind, but I could only see him as a friend. Peeta had filled that empty part of me. Peeta. Peeta. Peeta.

"Katniss," Gale says, running a hand through his hair again. We stop walking as I turn to face him.

"What's wrong?" I ask him. Maybe he's afraid of me now, too. Why would anyone want to be seen with the psycho of the District?

"I just—I" he looks at me again, for reassurance, but I don't understand what he wants to say. "You don't remember the past, at all?"

"Only people I remember," I respond. "Memories, not really. Only the ones that were replayed when I was… you know. In a coma."

"Well," he hesitates again, and I squeeze his hand. "Before you fell into… a coma… well,"

"Well?" I ask, becoming impatient.

"Well," he takes a deep breath in and closes his eyes. "We were sort of dating."


End file.
